Virgin Money has appointed Edinburgh-based Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) to manage around £3.6 billion of assets.

ASI will become investment adviser for five funds currently managed by Virgin Money Unit Trust Managers in which ASI secured a 50 percent stake in January 2019 for a cash payment of £40 million.

The five funds are the Virgin UK Index Tracking Trust; the Virgin Bond, Gilt and UK Share Fund; the Virgin Bond, Gilt and Overseas Share Fund; the Virgin Global Share Fund and the Virgin Money Bond and Gilt Fund.

ASI agreed to establish a joint venture with Virgin Money encapsulating Virgin Money Unit Trust Managers to provide asset management services to its customers in March 2018.

This deal was effectively sealed in January when the two firms signed a sale and purchase agreement

By then CYBG, which owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, had purchased Virgin Money (which includes the former Northern Rock bank) in October 2018.

This effectively doubled the potential customer base served by the ASI-Virgin joint venture from three million to six million customers.

The original aim of the joint venture was to combine Virgin Money’s brand, scale and distribution expertise with ASI’s investment management capabilities, asset management technology and digital expertise.

“The appointment of ASI as investment adviser for these five funds is a significant step in developing our joint venture with Virgin Money,” said Martin Gilbert, ASI’s chairman in a statement.

“Our wide range of investment capabilities, including multi-asset and quantitative investing, means we are well placed to advise on these portfolios and work with Virgin Money on additional investment solutions to meet the needs of its customers and those of its parent CYBG.”

In a separate development ASI also announced a joint venture with Gresham House, a listed London-based alternative investment management company.